Many user interfaces employ panes to expose application functionality and information to users. Panes are often dedicated to a specific feature or function of the application. When a user performs a task utilizing a feature or function supported by a pane, the pane is added to the user interface. In the user interface, the panes must share space with the application canvas, which holds the primary application content. While useful, panes reduce the amount of space available for the application canvas.
Without restrictions, panes can dominate the user interface, leaving little to no room for the application canvas. One conventional approach to pane management is to have no management and leaving users with the responsibility of pane management. Panes are simply opened and remain until manually closed by the user. The user may also selectively resize the open panes; however, low resolution or small form factor devices and touch-based interfaces are often incapable of providing the precise input response needed to keep the panes at usable sizes and maximum screen usage. Even when the precision is available, the effort of managing the panes detracts from the user experience.
Another conventional approach to pane management has been to place hard-coded restrictions on the number of panes. Hard-coded restrictions are not appropriate in all situations and do not take factors such as display configuration into account. When ample display area is available, the hard-coded number may unnecessarily limit a user from having access to the full number of panes that the user desires. On the other hand, when limited display area is available, the practical limit on the number of panes may be lower than the hard-coded number.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present disclosure has been made. Although relatively specific problems have been discussed, it should be understood that the embodiments disclosed herein should not be limited to solving the specific problems identified in the background.